Discovery reveals new type of brain cell sensitive to distance and direction of objects
The existence of GPS-like brain cells, which can store maps of the places we ve been, like our kitchen or holiday destination, was already widely known, but this discovery shows there is also a type of brain cell sensitive to the distance and direction of objects that can store their locations on these maps.
The research, led by Dr Steven Poulter and Dr Colin Lever from Durham University, and co-directed by Dr Thomas Wills from the University of Central London (UCL), found that Vector Trace cells can track how far we have travelled and remember where things are, which are added to our memory map of the places we have been.
Vector Trace cells are a novel type of neuron (also known as nerve cell).
Neurons carry electrical impulses from one place to another, transmitting information through electrical and chemical signals.
Vector Trace cells encode combined distances and directions to objects, as well as memory for the presence of objects recently seen, but now absent. It looks like Vector Trace cells connect to creative brain networks which help us to plan our actions and imagine complex scenarios in our mind s eye, said study co-author Dr Colin Lever at the University of Durham. Vector trace cells acting together likely allow us to recreate the spatial relationships between ourselves and objects, and between the objects in a scene, even when those objects are not directly visible to us.
Durham University scientists discover new type of brain cell that could help detect dementia
The cells that have been found are in an area of the brain that is first to be attacked by brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease
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Scientists have discovered a new kind of brain cell which will help us to understand how we remember where we left things such as our car keys or mobile phones.
Damage to these cells may help explain memory loss in certain kinds of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease, the researchers have claimed.
While the existence of GPS-like brain cells, which can store maps of the places we have been, was already widely known, this discovery shows there is also a type of brain cell sensitive to the distance and direction of objects and that can store object locations on these maps.
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Credit: Dr. Steven Poulter and Dr. Colin Lever
The existence of GPS-like brain cells, which can store maps of the places we ve been, like our kitchen or holiday destination, was already widely known, but this discovery shows there is also a type of brain cell sensitive to the distance and direction of objects that can store their locations on these maps.
The research, led by Dr Steven Poulter and Dr Colin Lever from Durham University, and co-directed by Dr Thomas Wills from the University of Central London (UCL), found that Vector Trace cells can track how far we have travelled and remember where things are, which are added to our memory map of the places we have been.